Homeless Voice
by Malin Halibell
Summary: When music producer Edward Cullen stops by his mothers' coffee shop and stumbles upon homeless Bella Swan and her amazing voice, will both of their dreams come true? Or will secrets they are hiding and pasts they are running from reveal the nightmares lurking in the shadows?
1. Chapter 1

**Reposting this since it was taken off by FFn a few months ago. I will be reposting chapters weekly, every Friday night.**

**For those of you who hadn't started reading this before it was deleted, welcome and I hope you enjoy this story. Fair warning, it will be sad in places and I will not shy away from Bella's hard life on the streets. Just keep in mind that it's one of my rules to always have a HEA.**

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**BPOV**

I was sitting in one of the back alleys, huddled up in a tight ball trying to keep the stinging wind out of my face and away from my body. The smell coming from the dumpster a few feet away was killing me, but it was helping to block the wind from me, so I had to grin and bear it for now.

I looked around and saw no one was there, everyone like me that normally would have been out prowling the streets for things I shuddered at, were probably somewhere trying to keep warm too.

It was one of those nights that were cold and unforgiving. Not many of those came around, thank God, but when they did, it was horrible.

_At least it's not raining_, I thought sourly.

This had been my life for nearly four years. I think it was four years anyway. I tended to lose count, not having anything to keep track of the passing days. Time drags on forever when you live on the streets. When you have no food, no water, nowhere to sleep at night, no blankets or heaters to keep you warm, no family or friends to spend your days or nights with.

I could only tell the days because every few weeks, I would stop at a newspaper stand and looked at the date on one of the papers.

All you could do was walk around aimlessly, pray that no one would give you a hard time so you could find something decent to eat in a trashcan and a dry place to sleep as soon as possible. That isn't always the way it worked out though. There had been many times that a man, homeless like me, or just a dickhead wandering around, had grabbed me and… done things that I had been helpless to stop. I mean really, I was 5'4" and about 100lbs, what was I going to do against a man twice my size? Not much, that's what.

Unfortunately, I have been raped a few times, but I saw it as a part of this life. I just picked myself up and tried to be strong until I found someplace where I could lay down and cry it all out for a while and then get back up and keep going. I was very good at locking things away in the back of my mind and ignoring them.

Now I was just trying to stay fucking warm. Not an easy feat when it is freezing outside and all I have on is a thin t-shirt, a hoodie and a pair of near threadbare jeans. I looked up at the dark sky and began to count the stars. Counting stars always helped me sleep, it reminded me that there was other, bigger things out there. That there was still hope for something.

I managed to count to about fifty before my eyes began to droop close and I slipped into the dark.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~HV~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

I woke up suddenly, jerking out of the dream I was having. More of a nightmare actually, but whatever.

I looked around groggily, a routine I had developed years ago to make sure that no one was around me that was a potential danger.

I didn't see anyone so I relaxed and breathed in and out deeply a few times to calm my erratic heartbeat. The nightmares never disappeared, never faded, it was terrible. I kept reliving that last day over and over, I hated it. I wanted it to go away and never come back, to leave me in peace, but I obviously couldn't be so lucky.

I stood up, stretching my aching muscles and leaned down to pick up my backpack. It was the only thing I had left of my old life. It held a few changes of clothes, a tooth brush, my hairbrush, my notebook and a few pens, and my prized possession; my mother's wedding ring. I kept it safely in a smaller, hidden pocket on the inside of my bag.

I never wore it because I was afraid it would either get dirty or it would slip off my finger and I would never find it again. Plus, it was like a three karat diamond and was very sparkly, and big and sparkly on the streets was just asking for someone to run up and rip it off my finger and do god only knows what to me in the process.

I wasn't willing to risk it just so I could wear a shiny diamond. I may be homeless, but stupidity wasn't the reason why.

I hiked my bag over my shoulder and started walking to my usual morning spot, dragging my tore up chucks along the pavement.

Every morning that I am able to I walk to the coffee shop on 69th street - _Cullen's Coffee_. The owner was a sweet woman named Esme who had befriended me. It was my favorite coffee shop, way better then that generic Starbucks crap. I rarely had the money to buy anything except maybe a couple small coffees every month, so I would sit just outside the door and breath in the delicious aromas wafting out as customers came and went. It was the perfect place to write, so I got comfortable and pulled my notebook and a pen out of my backpack. Mostly I wrote songs, sad songs, happy songs, confusing songs, hateful songs. Basically whatever I was feeling in that particular moment, I put it down in song form.

I was writing down my latest song as I listened to the people walking by, ignoring me as usual. No one wanted to acknowledge or help the weird, dirty, homeless girl, and that was perfectly fine with me.

The last time someone tried to 'help me', he wanted to help me into his bed. Do I look like fucking Julia Roberts to you? _No._

Although, he didn't really care if I was a willing participant or not, 'cause he had me in his bed, fucking me… raping me… whatever you wanted to call it.

I told him _no_ dozens of times, that whatever he was going to give me in exchange wasn't worth it. He was about halfway through when I screamed out that I was sixteen and apparently, even he had standards for not raping underage girls, because he stopped, waited until I put my clothes back on and threw me out of his apartment, handed me $300 and told me to never come back. _No problem asshat. _

I sighed and blocked those memories out. That little incident had happened almost two years ago, you think I'd be over it by now.

I kept writing for what felt like about an hour and I finally had completed another song. I looked it over a few times to see if I needed to improve upon it.

_It's a harder way and it's come to claim her  
And I always say, we should be together  
And I can see below, 'cause there's something in here  
And if you are gone, I will not belong here_

_And I started to hear it again_  
_But this time it wasn't the end_  
_And the room is so quiet,_

_And my heart is a hollow plain_  
_For the devil to dance again_  
_And the room is too quiet,_

_I was looking for the breath of a life_  
_A little touch of a heavenly light_  
_But all the choirs in my head sang, no_

I smiled to myself as I went through the lines; it was perfect. One of my better songs if I do say so myself, it had depth to it. And surprisingly hopeful for the mood I was in.

I tilted my head back and closed my eyes, just breathing in the amazing coffee smell. I started to hummed the tune I envisioned in my head for the song I just wrote down, then I went back and began to sing the words out loud with the tune still going in my head.

I was halfway finished with the song when I felt a presence next to me. Out of instinct, I snapped my eyes open and jumped up, taking a defensive position.

A couple feet away from me, I found the source of the unwanted presence. It was a man, not just your everyday, run of the mill guy, this guy was hot. I don't say that about a lot of guys, actually, I don't think I've ever said that about any guy.

This man was something else entirely; he was tall, around 6'2" - 6'4", but lean and muscled, like a cross between a swimmer and a soccer player. Broad shoulders and tapered waist, long legs that I'm sure were just as muscled as the rest of him. His obviously well kept body was covered by a charcoal gray suit. He had on a black undershirt, with the first two buttons undone and he wasn't wearing a tie.

His hair caught my attention next, it was a shocking color of bronze, like a penny. I'd never seen that hair color on anyone before. Did he dye it to make it that way? It was everywhere, sticking out all over the place, like he woke up and ran his hands through it trying to tame it, but failed and gave up when he couldn't find a brush.

His face… oh good God his face. It was a thing of beauty. Strong, defiant jaw, with slight stubble, cheekbones any male supermodel would kill for, a straight, manly nose, and piercing eyes that made me feel all warm inside. They were green, the color of a bright green candy apple.

As good looking as this strange man may be, he was even more of a danger to me than any other man out there. You know why? Because I actually wanted to be with this man, and I'm not talking about just sex, I definitely don't want that. I wanted to sit and talk to this man, to know about him, what makes him tick, what his interests are what the hell he's doing here standing in front of me looking at me like I'm something interesting.

"What do you want?" I demanded, eyeing him cautiously, not knowing what he wanted with me.

He stared at me for a few moments longer before his eyes regained focus and he tilted his head slightly to the left.

"Your voice… it's beautiful." He murmured. I almost didn't hear it.

"W-what?" I stuttered. I had been on the streets for years, and had been writing and singing for about the entire time. I had people walk past me and tell me I was good and give me a few bucks here and there, hell, it was probably the only thing that kept me alive, but I never had anyone say my voice was _beautiful_.

That was a new one.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Edward Cullen." He stepped forward with his hand stretched out, but when I took a step back and stared at his hand like it was a snake about to lunge and bite me, he lowered it and stepped back.

Then his name fully registered in my mind; Edward Cullen. _Cullen_… like Cullen's Coffee? Did he own the coffee shop with Esme?

"And? What do you want?" I snipped at him. I didn't mean to, but he was a man I found attractive and he was a little too close for my comfort. Not a good combination for my safety.

"Well, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I walked out of the shop and you were singing, and I have to say it was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard, and that's saying something." He mumbled the last four words.

"What do you mean _'that's saying something_'?" I was curious.

"See, I'm a record producer. I hear people sing all the time, it's my job, but you have something I've never heard before. It's almost like an angel." He mused.

This guy had guts. I have heard a lot of lines over my time out here, but this was a new one. I give you an 'A' for originality sir, but it isn't gonna work.

I laughed at him until I saw the confused look on his adorable face.

"That… that's a new one." I giggled.

"What do you mean?" His brow was furrowed.

"Look, what was it – Edward? I'm not going to fall for your little line or whatever it is you've got going on here." I picked up my bag off the ground and turned around to start walking.

I could feel him walking after me.

"Wait! No, I swear I'm not trying to pick you up or give you a line. I can prove that I'm what I say I am. My mother, she owns the coffee shop you were sitting outside of, please, go in and ask her if she knows who I am." He pleaded with me.

I stopped mid-stride. There was something in his voice that made me want to at least go in and ask if he was for real.

I turned back to him slowly and saw that his face was crunched together and he was holding both of his hands out toward me, but not close enough to make me uncomfortable.

"Fine, I'll go in and ask." I muttered and walked past him quickly, making sure to keep some space between us as I did.

I opened the door to the shop, breathing in the strong coffee aroma. I had been in here a few times, but it was usually when I was cleaner. I realized that I probably looked horrible, not having gone down to the shelter for a quick shower for a couple of days.

I spotted Esme behind the bakery stand with her head down, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. I had talked to her every time I came in, she was the nicest person I have ever met. She would sit down and talk to me and tell me about her family, or how sometimes owning the coffee shop was stressful, and she always listened to me talk about trivial little things. She was also the only person who I have ever let look at my songs. She thought they were amazing and would smile and gush about how I was so talented. Esme she was almost like a mother to me, or at the very least, a doting aunt.

I would order a cup of coffee and on my way out she would hand me a doughnut or a bagel and tell me if I tried to pay for it, she would take it as a personal insult.

I never wanted to insult Esme in any way.

I also knew that if I asked her if this Edward guy was really who he says he is, she wouldn't lie to me. Was she really Edwards' mother? Now that I thought about it, Esme's hair was almost the same color as Edwards, it was just a few shades lighter.

I walked up to the counter in front of her and she looked up at me, surprised.

"Bella, oh I didn't know you were coming today! I just made a fresh pot of the caramel coffee, would you like a cup?" She asked as only Esme could ask, all sweet and mothering.

"Umm... no Esme, that's not why I'm here actually." I said, looking down at my fingers that splayed on the counter.

"Is something wrong Bella? I told you I'll help you with anything, just say it, sweetie." She asked concerned.

"No, nothing's wrong, I think." I reassured her. "I just had a question I wanted to ask you."

"Go ahead Bella." She encouraged.

"Well that man outside," I pointed to where Edward was standing, talking on his cell phone.

"Oh, you mean Edward? Did he do something to upset you? I swear, that boy can be so blunt sometimes, he means well and all, but he just doesn't have much of a filter." Esme tsked and wrote something else down on the paper.

"Is he your son?" I asked.

"Yes, one of two. Edward's the younger, his brother Emmett is older by two years." She told me.

So he was telling the truth, at least he was Esme's son, but was he a record producer like he said?

"He told me he's a record producer… is he?" I asked timidly. I was afraid that Esme would be offended that I thought her son was a liar.

"Yep. He owns the big recording studio downtown, Eclipse Records. His best friend, a nice young man named Jasper Hale is his partner in the company." She said proudly, like any parent who's son owned the best record studio in the northwest.

I'd heard of Eclipse Records, the company had signed many artists over the years and made them famous with number one hits within the first year of their contracts. The company was created when I was eleven and it brought me many of my favorite bands during my younger teen years and up until I started living on the streets.

"Why do you want to know sweetie?" Esme asked me, causing me to snap my eyes back into focus.

"Well, he umm... He heard me singing outside and he said I was really good. He told me who he was and what he did and I didn't believe him, so he told me to come in hear and ask you, his mother." I explained softly, playing with my fingers.

"Oh sweetie, don't worry, he's telling the truth. I don't think that boy has lied to a woman a day in his life. Well, not counting his teenage years with me." She laughed, obviously remembering something. "Trust me, he won't hurt you. He's probably just curious, that's all. Go talk to him and tell him I said that if he says anything to upset you, I'm gonna tell his father." She smiled and winked.

I smiled a little, now that I knew Edward was telling the truth and Esme said he wouldn't try anything with me, I felt a bit better about going to talk to him to see what he wants.

"Thank you Esme, I guess I better go back out and see what he wants." I said and started to turn around.

Esme stopped me though and handed me a jelly doughnut.

"Esme I ca-"

"No, Bella. You take that and you eat it." She demanded in her sternest mother voice. Why couldn't my mother have been like that in the end? Cared more. Loved me even half as much as Esme cares about me.

I sighed, but smiled at her and took a bite, strawberry jelly gushing into my mouth. She smirked and said goodbye as I walked out the door.

Edward was still on his phone and could hear what he was saying.

"No man, this isn't like the thing with Irina. She's actually really, really good. She's amazing, trust me, Jazz." He was speaking forcefully into the phone, running his left hand through his hair.

_So that's why it looks like he just rolled out of bed. _

I cleared my throat and he spun around, said something into the phone that I couldn't hear and snapped it shut.

"Esme said that you were telling the truth. Now, what do you want?" I asked him shortly. I didn't want to spend my time talking to this man if I didn't have to.

He took a step towards me but stopped when I frowned and stepped back.

"Can we sit down on the bench and talk about it?" He asked pointing toward a bench a few feet away.

"Fine." I mumbled and walked past him, plopping down on the bench, wincing as I did because everything was sore, especially my ass, considering it had sat on cold, rough concrete all night long.

He sat down next to me slowly and I watched him out of the corner of my eye.

"Umm… sorry, but I didn't catch your name." He said softly.

_God, was he always nice? _

"My name's Bella." I said, looking down at my chucks. They were so torn up and dirty. I've been wearing them since I left home four years ago. I was honestly surprised that I couldn't see my toes through the ends yet.

"Doesn't surprise me." Edward murmured.

"What?"

"Uh, nothing." He covered quickly and ran his hand through his hair again. Must be a habit he has or something.

"Bella, I have a sort of job offer for you." He started out with.

"What do you mean, a job offer? This isn't like a sex thing or anything, 'cause I may be homeless, but I'm not a hooker." I spat the last part a little angrily. Men always thought that because I was homeless, they could pay me for sex and treat me like a hooker. I wasn't that desperate, but God I dreaded the day that I would be.

"No! No, god no! I don't mean it like that. I mean not that I wouldn't, you're very pretty, but I wouldn't do that to you or to any girl for that matter! I just wanted to ask you if you would like to come down to the studio and try something out. You have one of the best voices I've ever heard and I would love it if you would come down and record something." Edward rushed out. I was afraid for a second that he would pass out from not breathing. His face was already turning a little red.

"Let me get this straight. You want me to come with you down to your big-shot record studio and do what? Sing something? Just like that? Aren't you going to ask more about me? My last name, how old I am, what the hell happened to me?" I spouted of at him, a little flustered.

"Yes I want you to come to my studio with me and record something, just like that. And as for everything else, you know, we don't have to tell each other everything within the first few minutes that we're talking to one another." He smiled this sexy crooked smile. It made my heart flutter.

Was this guy seriously offering what he was offering? I didn't want to believe it for one second.

"Please, you don't have to do anything for sure, just come down with me and check things out. See what it's all about. And there will be nothing sexual involved whatsoever, I won't even touch you in anyway at all if you don't want me to do, I promise." He pleaded. It was kinda cute when he pleaded with me and something about his tone of voice made me believe he wouldn't go back on his word.

"I can leave anytime I want to?" I asked him.

"Yes." He assured me.

I looked down at my hands and thought it over for a minute. If I went with him, at least it would be a few hours off the street and away from the cold. What could it hurt, really? I looked down at my backpack and thought about my mothers' ring. Which made me think about my mother. My mom had always wanted me to do something with my life. The least I could do for her was give this thing a chance. Why waste an opportunity that was put in front of me like this? Edward was Esme's son, I knew that Esme wouldn't have raised him to be one of those vile men that I hated. Like... like _him_.

The worst that could happen would be that he'd get me in there and he would realize that I sucked and threw me back out on the street.

I turned to Edward. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

His face lit up and put his crooked smile in place.

"That's great! Thank you, I promise this will be good, Bella." He stood up. "I just need to make a call to my driver so he can bring the car around." Edward excused himself and dialed a number on his phone.

_A driver? Pull the car around? What the fuck? Was he that loaded? _

Edward flipped his phone shut and a couple seconds later a black limo pulled up a few feet away.

My jaw came unhinged and my eyes about popped out of my head.

"Bella do you want to get in?" Edward asked as the driver opened the backdoor for us.

I stood up slowly, my eyes still wide, grabbed my bag and clutched it to my chest and walked over to the limo.

The driver nodded at me politely as I slid in. A few seconds after, Edward slid in beside me, still managing to keep about a foot in between us.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

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**What does everyone think? What do you think of our Edward and Bella? I think Bella needs a hug, but that's me. **

**Hit that little button down there and tell me what you think, please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**EPOV**

"Edward honey, you work too hard." My mom, Esme was chastising me.

I sighed, she always said that I worked too hard and I always brushed her off. This was our bi-weekly ritual. I'd come into the coffee shop she owned and we'd sit and talk about what was going on, have some coffee and bagels. It was the only real quality time that she and I got with each other and it made her happy, and to tell you the truth, I kinda liked it too. But don't you fucking tell anyone that.

"I don't work all that hard, mom, I just do my job." I said.

"You're always at that place and whenever I see you, you look so tired. Why can't you take a vacation or something." She went on, completely ignoring what I had just said.

"Mom, I'm always there because it's my job, I love being down at the studio, it's my passion. I don't really view it as being a workaholic or something." We went through this every time.

"You need a girl, Edward," My mom murmured, sipping on her coffee.

I nearly choked on my bagel. This was the first time the subject of getting a girlfriend had come up.

"What?" I gasped.

"You heard me young man. You need a girl." She said.

I laughed at her. I didn't mean to, but I just couldn't help it. My mother was trying to tell me that I needed a woman? Ha!

"Uh mom, I had a woman, I've had a few women actually." I said uneasily. I didn't really want to talk about my sex life with my mom.

"Oh Edward, I don't mean a girl that hangs on your arm for a week or two and then you can just set her to the side when you're done. I mean a girl that you can talk to about you day and your problems. A girl that you can come home to at night and you want to spend your time with more than anything. A girl that makes your face light up when you see her. A girl that you can love, Edward." She said, putting her coffee down and laying her hand on top of mine on the table.

A girl I could _love_? Was that even possible? All the women I had ever dated always wanted me for my money or the chance to get signed at the label. That's what happened with the last girl I had seriously dated; Irina.

The thing was was that she was actually pretty good. Not like, superstar good or anything, but she had a nice voice, I figured I could at least be nice and let her have her 15 minutes of fame.

But that went down hill fast.

The second we finished her first few songs, she went all Britney Spears diva on me and everyone at the studio. It had been the last straw when I caught her snorting coke all over my desk with a couple 'guy friends'. Then when I asked her where the fuck she got it at, she said that Jasper had been giving it to her for weeks.

That was bullshit.

I admit, Jazz and I did some lines at parties, but we never did them with anyone else, just him and me, and sometimes Emmett. Jazz had his reasons for this. When he was younger, around fifteen or sixteen, an older friend of his started him on it. By the time he was eighteen, he had almost died from overdosing on the stuff and ended up in rehab for a year. He vowed to never become like that guy that had started him on it.

When Jazz promised something, he meant it until the day he died. So I knew that Irina was lying her ass off and trying to rat out Jazz for something he'd never do. I wouldn't stand for that shit. The only thing that kept me from dragging her out the door by her hair was twenty-eight years of my mother ingraining into my head to never lay a hand on a girl. So I called security and let them drag her out instead.

I called my lawyer the next day and made her contract null and void and told her if she ever came around here again, I'd have her arrested.

That was a year ago and I hadn't been in a serious relationship of any kind since. My sex life consisted of one night stands and I had gotten used to it, I actually preferred it to the alternative if something like the thing with Irina was what I had to expect.

I shuddered at the thought and focused my attention back to my mom.

"Mom, I'm really not ready for something like that, okay. I just haven't found anyone." I said.

"You haven't found anyone because you're always working." She brought up again.

My phone went off and it was a message from Jazz. He needed me for something down at the studio.

"Look mom, I'm really sorry but I've got to go, Jazz needs me for something." I said apologetically.

"Alight hun, will you be at dinner Sunday night? Emmett called me yesterday and said he and Rose were coming so if you're there, the whole family will be there." She asked, standing up and walking around the table to give me a hug. Yes, I hug my mom in public, shut up.

"Yeah I promise I'll be there. I love you mom, see you Sunday." I said and walked out the door.

I was about to walk a little bit down the street to my car, when I heard an amazing voice. It was almost like an angel was behind me singing.

I turned around and was met with the sight of a girl. A young girl, she didn't look any older than nineteen or twenty. She had long brown wavy hair that seemed to reach past her waist. This girl was tiny, she seemed almost too skinny. Her clothes were torn and dirty. I realized then that she must be homeless. She was sitting on the ground, leaning up against the brick wall of my moms' shop, with her knees pulled up to her chest, with a notebook laying against her chest and her head tilted back. She had the angel voice.

_It's a harder way and it's come to claim her  
And I always say, we should be together  
And I can see below, 'cause there's something in here  
And if you are gone, I will not belong here_

_And I started to hear it again_  
_But this time it wasn't the end_  
_And the room is so quiet_

_And my heart is a hollow plain_  
_For the devil to dance again_  
_And the room is too quiet_

All I could do was stand there and listen, staring at her.

Suddenly, she stopped singing and jumped up like she had been shocked and took a defensive position a couple yards away from me.

This girl was short, I had almost a foot on her height wise. And I was right about her hair, it was a few inches past her waist, and was a little dull, but I could see the beauty of the shades underneath the dirt. A dark chocolate brown with tints of red running through it. I bet if it had a good washing, it would become shiny and full.

"What do you want?" She was defensive, like she was afraid of me.

It was then I noticed her eyes. They were large and gave her that doe eyed look. They were also about the same color as her hair; a dark chocolate brown.

"Your voice… it's beautiful." I murmured. I couldn't tell if I was saying it to myself or if I was trying to answer her question.

"W-what?" She stuttered out adorably. Wait, hold the fucking phone! _Adorable?_ When the fuck did I ever use that word on a girl?

Then I realized that I was talking to her like this and I hadn't even told her my name.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Edward Cullen." I said and stepped toward her, holding out my hand. She stepped back though and glared at my hand like it was going to rip her throat out.

I lowed it slowly and stepped back away from her.

"And? What do you want?" She asked.

"Well, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I walked out of the shop and you were singing, and I have to say it was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard, and that's saying something." I mumbled that last part, maybe my mom was on to something after all.

"What do you mean 'that's saying something'?"

I told her what I did and who I was and she didn't seem to believe me, she was about to walk away from me and I started to panic. This girl, whoever she was, had one hell of a voice. I couldn't just let her walk away like that.

I stopped her and told her to go in to the coffee shop and ask Esme to clarify that I was telling the truth. I practically begged her to go ask, and after a couple minutes she relented and walked part me in to the shop, keeping her distance.

I breathed out a sigh of relief and hoped that Esme wouldn't say anything that would make her run from me.

I looked in the window and saw that she was talking to my mom, so I pulled out my phone and dialed Jazz's number.

On the fourth ring he picked up.

"Yellow, Ed man." The nerd always answered the phone in some weird way. I wondered what Alice sees in his nerdtastic ass sometimes.

"I found someone, Jazz." I said excitedly into the phone.

"You found someone? What do you mean, like a hot chick or something along the lines of God? 'Cause I've never pegged you for a religious man, Ed." He chuckled.

"No Jazz, someone as in someone with a good voice. Someone new, someone that we could possibly sign." I said, ignoring his jabs at me.

"Really? How good is this someone?" Now I had piqued his interest. Jazz was always interested in new talent. It's what had made him such an amazing business partner all these years.

"She's incredible. I heard her singing before I saw her and I could have sworn it was a fucking angel, man! I've got to get her to at least come down to the studio and sing something. I don't know what I'll do if she says no." I said, looking at her through the window, she was still talking to mom.

"Huh, that good? You've never said that about anyone we've had." He mused.

"Yes, she's that good. She may be able to be better if she agrees to work with us."

"Are you sure there's nothing going on with you two? Remember what happened with Irina." He tried to warn me. He had nothing to warn me against though. I mean, sure this girl was very pretty, but this wouldn't be anything like Irina, I was going to make sure of that.

"No man, this isn't like the thing with Irina, okay. She's actually really, really good. She's amazing, trust me, Jazz." I stressed to him. I ran my hand through my hair, a nervous habit I had developed at a young age.

"Okay Ed, if you're sure. You can go ahead and bring her in." He said.

I heard a throat being cleared behind me and I spun around. The girl was standing there. Shit, how long had she been there?

"Jazz, I have to go, I'll be in soon." I mumbled and shut my phone, shoving it back into my pocket.

"Esme said that you were telling the truth. Now, what do you want?" She asked a little shortly.

Oh thank God. I was afraid mom would say something to scare her off.

"Can we sit down on the bench and talk about it?" I asked pointing toward a bench a few feet away.

"Fine." She muttered and walked over to it and sat down a little roughly. I noticed that she winced, I wonder what that's about.

I walked over and sat down next her slowly, not wanting to scare her.

"Umm… sorry, but I didn't catch your name." I said quietly. I _needed_ to know this girls name.

"My name's Bella." She mumbled.

Of course her name is Bella. _Beautiful_. Everything I had seen so far about her was beautiful. Her looks, her voice. Was she just as beautiful inside as well? God, I wanted to know more than anything.

"Doesn't surprise me." I muttered under my breath.

"What?" She asked me.

"Uh nothing." I said and ran my hand through my hair again.

I went ahead and came out with what I wanted. I offered her a job and she immediately went to sex. What had happened to this girl to make her think all I wanted from her was sex? Had she been hurt? I knew life on the streets was hard, but for a pretty, young girl it must me hell. How many men had propositioned sex from her?

I told her that's not what I wanted form her and she relaxed a little.

After a lengthy discussion, she agreed to give it a go. But she insisted that I didn't touch her at all. Something bad had defiantly happened to this poor girl involving men. Maybe I could help her with that. Hell, I felt like I _needed _to help her.

I called Mike to ask him to bring the car around and when he pulled up, Bella's jaw dropped. I thought it was about to fall off her face onto the ground.

Mike looked at Bella a few seconds too long for my liking and I glared at him. His eyes widened and went directly to the pavement.

I slid in after her, making sure to keep my distance.

"It's just a short drive, maybe ten minutes." I told her, trying to keep her comfortable.

She nodded her head and keep looking straight ahead. I could swear she was watching me out of the corner of her eye.

"So, what does all of this entail exactly?" She asked me suddenly.

"Well, all you would have to do is do a song in the sound booth, we'll record it and put it on a track. If it's really good, which I have absolutely no doubt that it will be, we'll go from there. If you want we could do a whole album." I told her.

Her jaw dropped again and she snapped it back shut. I resisted the urge to laugh, it was so fucking cute when she did that.

"A whole album?" She gasped.

"Only if you want to do it. We would of course pay you, and sign you to the label." I reassured her. I didn't want her to think that she wouldn't get anything out of this.

She looked at me strangely, with a crease between her brows that I wanted to smooth over with my thumb, but held myself in check.

After that, the rest of the car ride was silent. Bella stared out the window, watching all the buildings flash by and I stared at Bella, watching as her eyes would occasionally light up when she saw something she liked and then go flat again the next second.

We finally pulled up to the studio and Mike came around to open the door for us. I slid out first and turned to help Bella out, but I remembered her condition about no touching and lowered my hand back down to my side.

She slid out gracefully with her bag in hand and I motioned for her to follow me.

I held open the back door (employee entrance) open for her, I happened to look down and see that her jeans were very tight, which happened extenuate the fact that Bella has an amazing ass. I'll admit right here and now; I, Edward Cullen, am an ass man. And Bella had one hell of an ass, I was almost drooling over it. I shook my head, hoping to dispel all the inappropriate thoughts running through my it and escorted Bella into the sound room where I knew Jazz would be waiting for us.

We walked in and Jazz was there alright, with his long time girlfriend, Alice Brandon, sprawled out across his lap, sucking each others faces off. They had been dating since a few months after he got out of rehab. I didn't know why they just didn't get married already but whenever I asked, Alice would just say that they were waiting for the right time and it hadn't come yet. She was always being all cryptic like that, it kinda freaked me out sometimes when she did that. I had nothing against Alice, hell, she was like my little sister, but sometimes she just got annoying, like she was a pixie hopped up on red bull and distracted Jazz when he was at work; like now.

Bella looked uncomfortable and was blushing like crazy while trying to look anywhere but at Jazz and Alice.

I cleared my throat loudly, Alice's head shot up like a bullet and Jazz was so startled that he nearly dumped Alice onto the floor.

"You two want to go someplace else for a few minutes and finish up?" I teased them.

Alice stuck her tongue out at me and Jazz just shook his head and tried to hide his smile.

"We had a nice quiet room before the two of you walked in. By the way, are you going to introduce us?" Alice asked, looking Bella up and down pointedly.

"Uh yeah, sorry. Alice, Jasper, this is Bella. Bella, this is Jasper Hale, my business partner and his girlfriend Alice Brandon." I said, pointing to everyone.

Alice jumped off of Jaspers lap and skipped, yes skipped, over to Bella and threw her arms around her. The poor girl didn't know how to deal with Alice's enthusiasm yet and froze, locking her arms against her sides. Her face was a combination of shock and fear, like a scared rabbit that didn't know which way to run.

"Alice!" I hissed.

She immediately released Bella, startled at her reaction to something as simple as a hug.

"I'm sorry! I don't think when I do things like that, I was just so excited to meet you." Alice explained, managing to look like a rejected puppy.

Bella stood there still frozen, taking deep breaths, her hands shaking slightly.

I glanced over at Jasper and he was looking at her worriedly.

"Bella? Are you okay?" I whispered to her softly. I wanted to reach out and touch her, comfort her in some way, but I knew that would only make things worse.

She took in a deep breath and let it out, finally nodding her head slightly.

"I'm fine now." She almost whispered. "I was just startled, I'm not really used to that much….energy, that's all." She tried to smile at the end but it looked more like a grimace.

"Edward, can I talk to you for a moment? I just have a question about one of the artists." Jasper asked. He narrowed his eyes at me slightly, anyone else wouldn't have noticed it.

"Yeah. Bella, will you be okay in here with Alice? I promise that her bark is much worse than her bite. Just yell at her if she won't stop talking." I tried joke.

"I'll be fine, I can take care of myself." Bella mumbled and looked hesitantly at Alice.

"Okay." I nodded and walked out the door with Jasper in tow.

We got to the end of the hallway before Jasper grabbed my shoulder and turned me around.

"What the hell are you trying to pull man?" He demanded.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"That girl in there, Bella, isn't… stable." He clarified.

"Not stable? What the hell do you mean by that?" I was getting angry at him. He didn't know anything about Bella, were did he come off saying things like that?

"Okay, okay, maybe 'stable' isn't the right word for it, but something's not right about her, man. She's all panicky, her clothes look old and worn and she looks dirty." He paused for a second, then something in his eyes clicked and he gaped at me like a fish. "Is she homeless, Edward?" He whispered to me, like he was afraid of the answer.

I ran my hand through my hair and stared down at the floor.

_Huh, there's a big scuff mark, someone needs to buff out the floors again_.

"Edward!" Jasper whispered yelled.

I huffed. "Yes, Jasper, she's homeless! I found her outside my moms' coffee shop and she was singing and she just sounded so wonderful, I had to bring her down her just so we could try a few things. You have to trust me on this, Jazz, just give her a chance." I nearly pleaded with him. I wanted Jasper to see how good she is before he made any final judgments.

He sighed and rubbed his face up and down with his hands.

"Alright, I'm going to go with you on this, but if she turns out to be anything, _anything_, like Irina, I swear to God." He ranted.

"It won't be like that." I stated.

"Alright, come on, we better get back in before Alice gives her a heart attack." He muttered and started walking back down the hallway.

I hope like hell that Alice and Bella couldn't hear us, I didn't think we were talking that loud, but Alice has hearing like a bat and I don't know about Bella yet.

When I got back in the room, Bella was sitting in one of the chairs with Alice a few feet away talking to her about mine and Alice's friendship. Bella looked surprisingly relaxed and even giggled a little when Alice told her about what happened a few years when she and I got into a water gun fight in the studio and got most of the equipment completely soaked. Jasper was pissed and had a hissy fit about his precious equipment, but I totally won that round.

Jasper walked up to Bella, but made sure to keep some distance between them.

"Well, Bella I'm very curious to hear this voice of yours that Edward keeps raving about, would you like to go into the booth and try something out?" He asked in his southern accent. It never failed to charm the ladies, even Bella, apparently.

Bella blushed and started fidgeting with her fingers.

"Sure, but I don't get why Edward's so excited about me, I don't think I'm all that great."

I chuckled and shook my head. "Trust me Bella, you're great." I tried to reassure her.

She looked up at me and gave me a disbelieving look, but stood up and followed Jasper anyway.

"Just go in there and stand in front of the mic, put the headphones on and I'll tell you when we're ready," He explained, holding the door open for her.

She stepped inside and did as he said, shifting nervously on her feet.

Jasper pushed the button on the system that allowed us to talk to Bella inside.

"Okay Bella, do you want me to pick something or do you have a song that you'd like to do?" He asked.

"Well, I could do the song that I was singing when Edward found me?" It came out as more of a question.

"Of course, go ahead when ever you're ready." He pushed the button again, turning the sound out here off. Bella was looking down at her hands nervously and had her eyes closed. It looked like she was trying to hype herself up.

She nodded her head and started to sing into the microphone and I was not disappointed.

_It's a harder way and it's come to claim her  
And I always say, we should be together  
And I can see below, 'cause there's something in here  
And if you are gone, I will not belong here_

_And I started to hear it again_  
_But this time it wasn't the end_  
_And the room is so quiet_

_And my heart is a hollow plain_  
_For the devil to dance again_  
_And the room is too quiet_

She stopped and waited anxiously for our responses.

Jasper was staring open mouthed at her, his eyes wide. Alice was smiling the biggest grin I'd ever seen and was jumping up and down in her seat and clapping like she just did some crack. And I was switching off from giving Bella an encouraging smile to smiling a little smugly at Jasper.

"Wow." Was all Jasper was able to say.

"I told you so." I couldn't help but say smugly.

He turned to me slowly. "I will never doubt you again."

"Did I do okay?" Bella asked softly.

"You were fucking amazing, Bella!" Jasper exclaimed.

She jumped a little and giggled. For a moment I was a jealous, she never giggled at me. She did with Alice and Jasper, but not me, she seems to be almost scared of me.

"Where have you been all my life, darlin'? If I didn't love Alice so much, I might buy you a drink." He flirted with her, winking.

Bella blushed again. She was beautiful when she blushes, it brought her face to life.

"Come on out and we'll talk." He said and opened up the door for her.

_I wanted to do that_, I pouted internally.

Jesus, I didn't even know why I was having all of these feelings when ever Jasper did something nice or made her laugh. She was just some homeless girl that hopefully will be our new artist if she agrees to sign onto the label.

My thoughts traveled back to the conversation I'd had with Esme just a couple hours ago. She had said that I needed a girl that I wanted to know everything about, that I wanted to spend my time with and see her happy. I wanted to know about Bella, I wanted her to smile and laugh, for her to be happy, I wanted to sit down and just watch a movie or talk with her. The thought that Bella could be 'that girl' was a little frightening. I have nothing against Bella at all, but I didn't know if I was ready for all that yet. I was pretty much a playboy, I haven't done solid relationships for a long time.

"Edward, do you want to ask her or should I?" Jazz asked. It took me a second to realized he was talking about asking Bella if she wanted to sign onto the label.

"Bella, would you like to be signed onto the label?" I asked outright.

"Wait a minute here. You seriously want to sign me? Like all those other people that have number one hits and perform of the MTV Awards and The Grammys and everything? You want to do that with me?" She ask incredulously.

"Well yes. We'll get a band together for you, that you would pre-approve first of course, you'd record an album first and put it out on the market, I'm absolutely certain that it will sell, you'll make a music video or two and things just go from there." I told her.

"You do get the part that I'm _homeless _right? As in I live on the street and do a lot of things that you probably can't even imagine? You're clear on that?"

"Yes, I understand that. You won't have to live like that ever again Bella. As an official artist we'd give you everything you need, it's part of the contract. An apartment, a car, of course we'll be paying so you can do anything you'd like with that money, as long as it's not anything illegal." I said.

"You'd give a homeless girl a car and an apartment?" She asked skeptically.

I laughed cause I'd just told her that she would be recording albums and be a famous singer and she asks me about the car and apartment.

"Yes we would. We have a long standing agreement with a local car dealership that if they give us a discount on their cars that we give them free advertising. And Alice's parents own the apartment building that we all live in and we have three apartments reserved for our artists. They're very nice." I assured her.

"I'm not sure." She mumbled.

"Please Bella." Alice pleaded. "If anything, just think of it as a life experience."

She chewed on her lip for a minute before finally looking up at me.

"Fine, I'll do it."

**BPOV**

"Fine, I'll do it."

I can't believe I just said that I would do this.

Everything was so overwhelming, one minute I'm on the streets and the next this GQ model man comes up and whisks me away to his famous record studio and wants to sign me to said label and make me potentially famous.

It's a lot to take in within a couple hours.

Alice started jumping up and down, she did that a lot, and came over to me, careful not to touch me again. When Edward and Jasper were gone, I told her that I didn't really like people touching me and strangely she just nodded her head and said that I'd come around soon. Alice was a weird one.

"Bella, no offense, but I'm giving you a makeover. New haircut, nothing major, maybe some light layers, I can paint your nails and for now you can borrow some clothes out of my closet." She rambled on.

A makeover? I've never had a makeover before. I told her that and she gasped dramatically.

"Oh my god Bella! Never? That's it, now there's no question about it, you're coming with me, I'll get you set up in your new apartment. Jazzy and I should live two floors up from you, Edward lives on the floor between us." She said and walked over to the door, giving me a pleading look to follow her.

I sighed and picked up my bag.

"Alright, if you guys don't need me to do anything else here." I asked Edward.

"Oh no, go ahead, I'll bring by the paperwork later. You and Alice have your makeover time or whatever." He mumbled the last part, obviously having no clue what makeovers detailed, like me.

I followed Alice out of the building and she walked up to a bright yellow Porsche.

"Is this your car?" I gasped.

"Yeah, it's my baby. Edward bought it for me last year for my birthday." She said, rubbing the top of the car affectionately.

Edward bought her this as a birthday gift? This car wasn't cheap, which just reinforced the fact that Edward had a lot of money.

I got in carefully, I felt bad just sitting in it, I was dirty and my clothes were in horrible condition and the car was so expensive and clean.

"Alice, I feel like I'm getting your car dirty." I grumbled, trying to keep from touching anything.

"Nonsense Bella, you're not really too dirty. Just need a shower and change of clothes and you're good as new." She chirped, speeding down the road.

The whole way to her apartment she talked about what she was going to do, I think it was more to herself than me, but I still 'hmm'd' and 'sounds fun' when it called for it just to be polite. I didn't want to be rude to Alice, she seems really nice, although I was still a little wary of her…enthusiasm.

Alice pulled the car up to a very swanky building, it looked to expensive to be a regular apartment building, they looked more like penthouses.

"Come on Bella." Alice encouraged, opening my door and jumping up and down.

_How many energy drinks has she has today? _

I climbed out with my backpack in hand and followed Alice into the building. The man at the front desk looked up and stared at me as we walked across the lobby to the elevator. I was torn between telling him to fuck off and crawling into a hole to hide. I didn't belong in a swanky place like this, what the hell was I thinking when I agreed to be Edward and Jaspers little pet project or whatever this was to them?

I must have zoned out or something 'cause Alice was pulling me off the elevator by my jacket to a large wooden door. She unlocked it and pulled me inside. I couldn't withhold my gasp as I looked around. This place was beautiful.

Dark wooden floors, with high ceilings, the whole apartment was open, giving it an airy look, with floor to ceiling windows on the far wall, overlooking the city. The furniture was done in a white and red theme; white leather couch and two matching chairs, with red pillows and a red shag rug covering the floor. It was beautiful. And the kitchen, oh god. The hardwood floors carried into there, with granite counter tops, and stainless steel appliances. The cabinets were a dark mahogany. I stood frozen in the living room trying to take it all in.

They said that I was only two floors down and if the apartment they gave me was half as nice as this, I was going to have a heart attack and Edward would never be able to sign me.

"Alice… this place is amazing." I whispered, amazed.

She giggled. "Yeah, it's pretty spectacular. Jasper and I live here together, so it was hard to get the décor right, you know, not too girly and not too manly, I think we managed. Come on, you can use my shower, I still need to get the key to your new apartment from the front desk, I think I'll go down and get it while you're in there."

She pulled me through the living room, past the kitchen and down a large hallway to what I'm guessing is her bedroom. It was just as beautiful as the parts of the apartment, just messier. Clothes covered the king size bed and were scattered all over.

"Sorry about the mess, this always happens when I get dressed in the morning." She apologized and giggled. "Here's the bathroom, you can use my shampoo and body wash and anything else you need. Make yourself at home, but hurry up, I still need to get you dressed and do your hair. Edward won't know what hit him when he see's you." She clapped her hands like a child and had the most excited look on her face. It was ridiculous.

"What do you-" I started, confused about what she meant with Edward.

"Just trust me Bella. I'm going to get your key from the front desk, go ahead and get in the shower, there's a robe on the back of the door, put it on when you get out." She interrupted me and skipped out of the room without another word.

Alice is so strange, but I kinda liked it after I got used to her.

I went into the bathroom and once again gasped at the décor. The wall paper was a crème color, the toilet was off to the side, there were his and her marble sinks, and the shower was huge, I swear to God you could fit like six people in there. I stepped carefully till I got the shower, stripping my clothes off. They were so dirty, it felt nice to get them off. I turned the shower on, stepping into the hot water.

_Oh god this is nice_, I thought as I ran my hands through my hair, getting it sufficiently wet.

I squirted some shampoo that I assumed was Alice's and rubbed it into my hair, lathering it up. I started to hum as I rinsed my hair off.

I finished the rest of my shower quickly, not wanting to use anymore hot water than necessary. I felt bad enough as it was. I've never been one for charity, so all of this was really getting on my nerves, but if Edward was giving me this opportunity because he believed that I really had some talent, then I guess it wasn't really charity. That's the only reason why I was gritting my teeth and accepting all of this. Edward seemed to really believe in me and for some reason, I wanted to do this for him. I wanted to be the best I could so he wouldn't look like an idiot.

I wrapped myself up in the robe Alice had gestured to. It was pink and fluffy and it came down to my knees. I hadn't felt anything like this in years, I snuggled my face into it, enjoying the softness. I opened the bathroom door, peaking my head out. Alice was sitting on the bed smiling at me with something in her lap.

"Good, you're out. Now I need to dry your hair and get you dressed. Edward called and said he'd be here in an hour, not much time to get ready if you ask me. That man has never understood that us girls need time to look as good as we do." She muttered the last part and motioned for me to sit down in the chair in front of a gold vanity.

Time passed quickly as I let Alice do my hair and put makeup on me. I flinched away from her a few times, but she didn't seem to take it personally. I just wasn't use to contact from people that wouldn't hurt me in some way, so Alice being all over me was a little overwhelming, but I kept reminding myself that Alice wouldn't hurt me, she was just trying to make me look better.

She asked me if she could cut my hair and at first I was apprehensive, but when she saw the look on my face, she explained that she just wanted to take an inch or two off the bottom to get rid of some split ends and put in a few light layers. I nodded my head and let her do what she wanted.

After she was finished, she held out some clothes and told me to put them on. I took them from her slowly and walked back into the bathroom to change.

Alice had handed me a pair of black skinny jeans, a dark purple ruffled tank top, and a pair of black gladiator heels. I was about to yell something to Alice about the shoes when I heard her voice come though the door first.

"Just trust me Bella, the shoes are comfortable and they go great with that outfit."

I sighed, but relented anyways. I had to admit, they are cute.

After I got them on, I looked at myself in the mirror and was speechless by what I saw. I looked… _hot_. My hair was a few inches shorter, and was layered and slightly curled at the ends. You could hardly tell that I had any makeup on, a little bit of pink gloss, mascara, and some eyeliner, but all of it was light and only made the features they outlined stand out. The bra I was wearing pushed my breasts up and the top was low cut, showing them off without making me look like a slut. The jeans fit me perfectly, the were tight, but comfortable. And the heels gave me a couple extra inches making my legs look amazing and me taller.

I smiled a little and walked out of the bathroom to show Alice and thank her profusely, but who I saw when I walked out definitely wasn't Alice.

Edward was standing in the middle of Alice's bedroom, staring at me with his mouth hanging open. He kept blinking like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Was something wrong with me? Did he notice something that I hadn't seen when I looked in the mirror? I looked down at myself, but couldn't see anything out of place.

"Edward, is something wrong?" I asked softly.

He closed his mouth and shook his head like he was clearing it out.

"Uh no, nothing's wrong Bella. It's just that you look really good." Edward said.

I felt my face heat up and I mumbled a thank you.

"I got the contract ready, if you want to go ahead and look over everything." He said stretching his arm out to hand me a stack of papers.

I took it from him and sat down at the vanity again to read it all.

Pages and pages of legal jargon and rules and statements about what each party had to do.

I read through it multiple times, because frankly, I didn't get it all the first time, or the second time for that matter. After I was pretty sure I understood it all and asking Edward about a few parts, I felt like I was ready to sign it.

"You don't have to sign it right this instant Bella, after all, we still need to find you a band and negotiate a few things. I'll be working on that tomorrow. Read through it again and make sure this is what you want to do, and call me if you have anymore questions about anything." Edward said.

I nodded and started rubbing my temples, all of this was starting to give me a headache.

"I'm sorry Bella, but I have to get back the studio, Jasper needs my help with one of the other artists, something about them not liking the song they're doing. It's ridiculous." He explained to me.

"That's fine Edward, Alice probably wants to show me around my apartment anyway. And by the way Edward, thank you for all of this, really. I just don't know how to-"

"Bella, you don't have to thank me. You have a beautiful voice, I want to give you the chance to do something with it." He interrupted me, sounding incredibly sincere.

I bit my lip to keep the tears at bay, not wanting to show any kind of weakness simply out of habit.

"Thank you." I whispered. If I tried to say anything else, I was afraid the dam would burst.

Edward left me to my thoughts after that.

I didn't realize it then, but this was the beginning of one hell of a roller coaster that my life would become.

**AN **

**What do you think about Alice and Jasper? This chapter was just about explaining a little about Edward and getting Bella settled in, the next chapter will be a bit more action packed.**

**PS: The song Bella is singing in this chapter and the last is 'Breath of Life' by Florence + The Machine. If you haven't listened to it, it's freaking beautiful and I recommend it.**


End file.
